Decoracion de dormitorios: Un toque de humor antes de dormir

Imagínate al ir a acostarte y retiras el cubre cama y ves estos cómicas cojines, no puedes hacer más nada que reír.
Estos divertidos cojines son una colección de Matt Jones, llamada Pop Pillows. Son unos cojines reversibles con diferentes temas para elegir, Noise Pollution, Angel and devil y Dead tired.
Mira con que detalle puedes darle un poco de humos a tu cabeza, casi como una fotografía, estos cojines brindan un aire lúdico a un simple hecho cotidiano.

Fuente: Designsen.

Decoracion de interiores en blanco y negro

La sala, posee como centro de atención un sofá con piel de vaca, muy llamativa, acompañada por una chimenea y dos clásicos de Mies Van der Rohe (aquellos del pabellón de Barcelona) pero, por supuesto, "aggiornados".
Pero una mezcla ecléctica es lo llamativo, porque en este blanco espacio con objetos que juegan con su contraste, encontramos unos muebles de estilo clásico, en color madera.
Unas hermosas sillas en color negro con patas en madera, acompañan a una mesa rectangular de vidrio.
El color principal, generalmente es el blanco, el negro sería correr un riesgo importante.
El baño y el dormitorio, poseen un diseño más despojado y minimalista. Y para este tipo de decoración, el blanco y negro, son ideales.

Me, me, and more me.

photo source: squareamerica.com

I have been asked to write six interesting things about me by the talented (and fellow Canadian) Design Ties ladies. You know me, I always fail miserably with the whole blog awards and tag thingies... I have never been one to be great with rules. However, something about their request/command that I take part has prodded me into action. Fear not - after this one, I will go back to my lazy ways! Because really, there is very little that is interesting about me. I kind of wear myself on my sleeve, you know?

~Sigh~ Here goes (now is your chance to click on out of here):

1. I cannot physically dance in public unless I've had a few...and because I rarely have more than a glass of wine or two, dancing and me rarely partner up. But when we do, I can dance!!


(photo credit: Anne Taintor)

The rhythm, normally suppressed within me unleashes in a fury of Eighties and Nineties glory! Now, I'm not a geek -I won't moonwalk (although I know how) or do any dances that you see groups of drunken wedding guests doing in a circle or line. No, I pull out my Madonna and C&C Music Factory moves and squeal if the DJ puts on a 80's New Wave song by Depeche Mode or the like. Am I embarrassed the next day? Heck no! I am not that girl on the dance floor who thinks she's a Pussycat Doll!!! My next dance gig? My brother's wedding in July! Get your tickets now!!

2. As much as I love babies, I have to say I am really loving the early teenage years my sons are in. Their humour and insights make them so interesting to talk to (when they are up for talking). A few weeks ago, my sons and I stayed up till midnight discussing so many topics - dating, drugs, poverty, discrimination, school, their futures...I counsel and try to advise (and impart moral lessons, of course) and I love to hear their opinions on such matters. I pray the lines of communication will remain open and that they take the best paths for them.

But not leave me. I'm kidding. I think...

That said, I am also trying to brace myself for the scary stuff.

3. I measure my success as a parent by how my children treat others. I teach acceptance, not tolerance, as tolerance suggests the individual is doing something we must tolerate. I love that my eldest calls people out for discrimination and for treating others badly. He is like everyone else, flawed, but he is someone who gets the message...truly gets it. Sometimes I think he is more mature than me. His dad and I always say: he got the best bits of both of us and cast off the rest. He guides his younger, care-free brother and scolds him as needed. It is funny to watch sometimes. Other times, not so much!!!

And they face the wrath of me if they don't hold the door for others. Seriously, it makes my blood boil when anyone does that! The next worse thing is if you don't thank the person holding it for you. Adults do it all the time.

4. I think, think, think, and worry even more. Sometimes I wish I could silence my thought processes. Ideas pop into my head constantly and I seem to look at things lately and wonder how to improve, alter, recreate them, instead of just enjoying the view. I thought that a return to writing would quiet my creative yearnings, but instead they have just intensified. Conversely, I worry more than ever. I worry about the economy, war, pandemics, terrorism, family, financial security, people. When I read that back, I guess that is not so strange at all. I am sure most of you fret over the very same things...

5. Simplicity and simple things make me happy. Going for a drive with my husband, Tim Horton's coffee in hand; watching my boys play basketball, sitting down to Sunday dinner; playing Scrabble; walking and talking with a friend; spending time with my girlie; and shopping with the women in my family (shopping with anyone, really). I love the thrill of a great bargain, making things myself, and planning birthday parties for my kids. I don't wish for millions, someone to clean my house, or fancy cars. I dislike pretention, and would rather be heard than seen. I root for the underdog and admire people but never worship them. I give compliments honestly and can spot transparency from a mile away. I am intimidated by those with tons of self-esteem, and recognize it as my problem, not theirs. Big egos repel me, and I won't stroke them for all the tea in China. I care about others' problems, but lose respect when they don't wish others well. I am the fiercest of Mother Lions, and take no prisoners if my children are threatened.

6. I am embarrassed by how much talking I just did about myself, and I have just written my final me-me (is that what they are called?). I look forward to reading others', but the pot is empty for me. We are all interesting; but it is so much more fun to draw people out with questions, don't you think?

I've been going to a deep, dark place...

It's down here...

It's got floors like this -- EWWW!:

There's usually a lot of this going on:

Hide your eyes...

it's scary...

this is the worst part:

AHHHHHH!!!!! I know!!!

God Bless blogging...but it has created a bloggy butt on this Chick. Seriously...I say I've gained ten pounds in the past year...

But really. It's only been since, maybe October, when I really got into the blogging stuff. That's what, FIVE MONTHS?

Sick, I tell you. So this is how I spend 20 30 35 (!!!) minutes most nights now.

It's time to get my butt back.

Baby Toddler monitor?

Check.

Remote?

Check.

Phone?

Check.

Ipod playing NKOTB?

Check.

Next week, I start on this monster again:

I'm sceeeeered!!!

P.S. Your comments on my last post made ME all weepy. So sweet!!

P.P.S. I met one of my bloggy friends today! I can't wait to tell you about it. I also picked up an Easter/springy craft I will show you this weekend.

A Dreamy Artist's Loft

I take a painting class every Friday. I love to paint seascapes. The teacher puts on some wonderfully soft music and brews us Cinnamon Tea. I sit on my stool and try to imagine the real sea. While I paint my mind wanders and I dream of where I would paint if I was "real" artist. Here is a picture of an artist's loft in NYC. It comes pretty close to my dream.

All photos Ochs Design

The 2700 sq ft abandoned warehouse space was converted and renovated into an artist's loft by Ochs Design. The painting studio retains the original industrial asphalt floor. The light is incredible!

The studio work table was fabricated from stone and wood left behind by former commercial occupants decades earlier. Only the steel frame is new. I love the wonderful mix of textures every where you look.

Platforms replace walls to define the living space. To the right is the painting studio to the left the living area. Raw industrial surfaces provide the backdrop for art and sculpture. A large skylight lets in daylight to paint by.

The client's desire to leave the space as open as possible led to this luminous fabric sleeping enclosure. Isn't this so romantic?

I love the spare furnishings - what a wonderfully unique side table.

The client likes to cook and entertain. The spacious open kitchen features a 1925 bistro table that seats 16 people. I could have some great parties here!

Just wanted to give you a peek of where I dream about painting when I finally get discovered!

Another final bow...

I am stunned.

Again.

I just discovered (while attempting to renew my subscription) that Canadian Home and Country is closing its doors.

What's next? Country Living? Martha Stewart Living? House and Home?

My mouth hung open when I received word that Country Home was no more. I didn't see it coming, nor this one.

Is this the end of all great magazines?

Ideas para separar ambientes

Desde que los lofts irrumpieran en nuestras ciudades hace ya casi dos décadas, los comentarios acerca de su utilidad se suceden. Las opiniones, tantas como variadas, a favor o en contra, impulsoras y detractoras… El loft nace como nueva forma de vida y a él le dedicaremos un capítulo aparte, hoy nos vamos a centrar en algo que el loft trajo consigo.

Los espacios diáfanos son la causa o la consecuencia de los lofts, pero aún dispuestos a vivir en un solo espacio que cubra todas nuestras necesidades, hay tareas que precisan de una cierta intimidad. La búsqueda del espacio personal dentro del compartido, en ausencia de tabiques, requiere creatividad.

Imaginación al poder!! A falta de ladrillos, sirven todos aquellos métodos de separación que se nos ocurran, y las soluciones llegan a nuestras casas a borbotones.

El biombo es una herencia oriental, injustamente tratada durante años por su aparente inutilidad. Y es que hay cosas que han llegado a nuestras manos, mucho antes de que surgiera en nosotros la necesidad de utilizarlas.

Pero ahora gana fuerza día a día ya que nos permite unir o separar estancias en función de la actividad a desarrollar. Es una opción cómoda y ligera y que no conlleva el compromiso de un tabique, que perdurará “por siempre y jamás” en el mismo lugar.

Cualquier mueble colocado estratégicamente cumplirá doble función. Una librería abierta por ambos lados separará ambientes permitiendo el paso de la luz a la vez que sirve para almacenar libros, adornos, figuras… La trasera de un armario ropero, decorada como si de una pared se tratase se convertirá en un tabique divisorio si lo colocamos en el centro de la habitación.

Las mamparas de cristal quizá han sido la última incorporación al mundo de la separación. Son idóneas en espacios de estética vanguardista. Los vidrios se presentan transparentes, translúcidos, rotos, coloreados… además, podemos usarlos como base, y colocar sobre ellos pegatinas o vinilos, transformándolos de esta manera en piezas con un importante peso decorativo en nuestro hogar.

Existen paneles téxtiles y de papel decorados que enrollados en el techo no ocupan espacio, pero desplegados actúan como si de un tabique se tratase, empapelado a nuestro gusto. Tienen la cualidad de que se pueden convertir en un elemento con una alta carga erótica. Detrás del panel, se intuye lo que sucede… pero solo se intuye.

Cortinas a base de cuentas de colores, abalorios, láminas de plástico unidas con anillas formando un panel, tiras de tela de colores… son soluciones rápidas y económicas pero igualmente decorativas.

La vida es cada vez más comunitaria, más plural y más rápida. El mundo es uno y grande, los espacios se abren ante nosotros… pero nosotros nos resistimos y en una lucha constante entre metros e intimidad, exprimimos toda nuestra creatividad desarrollando soluciones realmente ingeniosas.

Fuente: Decoestilo

In this chair.

Before my son was born, my best friend told me she had something special she was going to give me after he arrived.

It was the book Love You Forever. She wanted to wait till after his birth because she knew it would have even more meaning then. She knew. I would hold his teeny tiny body in this chair, reading it to him, tears running down my face.

It's about a Momma who picks up her baby while he sleeps, and rocks him back and forth,

back and forth

back and forth

And she would sing,

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living,

my baby you'll be.

I don't even know when I started doing it, but it's been a long time. It's a special treat just for me. I don't even know if my husband knows I do it.

I'll pick up my sleeping boy, sit in this chair, and rock him back and forth,

back and forth

back and forth

Last night I realized how hard it is getting to get sleeping two-year-old out of his crib. He still bends his arms behind his head and arches his back and stretches, just like a baby. Do you know that stretch? He still does it. And then we settle into the chair and I rock him back and forth.

I stare at him in the dark, and every single time I do it, I remember sitting in this chair when he was days, weeks, months old, staring at that same face in the dark. I sit and stare and time just stops.

Once in a while, his eyes will barely open, a huge smile will come across his face and he'll say clear as day whatever he's dreaming about -- usually Dadda, choo choos or Ho Ho Ho (Santa). I'll laugh so hard and he'll keep smiling and then he'll fall back to sleep.

I sit and wish I could have him back as a baby, just for one day, one hour, one minute. Just to remember. All the while, I'm in the moment, memorizing his face, the weight of his body, his smell. So I don't forget.

But I know in two years, when I'm sitting and rocking my four-year-old, I will think back to when he was two, and I will have forgotten. Don't you wish you could bottle it up?

So I'll just continue my ritual, grabbing my sleeping boy, sitting in this chair, and rocking back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living,
my baby you'll be.

Ski Chalet in Chamonix

Off for a weekend of skiing in New Hampshire, but I leave you with a few photos of a wonderful ski chalet near Chamonix, France.

Have a lovely weekend!

The Girl in me...

I played in this on Sunday:

I wasn't exaggerating when I told you that the play house is as much mine as my daughter's! I decided to poke my nose into it to make sure it was wintering well (and it was) and when Sophie caught wind of what I was doing she duly followed me inside. Although it was fairly cold, we had a lovely little meal of (plastic) spaghetti and meat sauce, replete with crusty bread and smoothies. She tossed in some plastic strawberries and cherries into her toy blender, and within seconds we were (pretend) sipping on a seriously delicious drink. I held her baby while she cooked and the sun coming in the peak's window warmed me as I pretended to eat and care for my toy grandchild. I didn't feel at all silly, as the joy she got from rediscovering her playhouse was contagious. She had forgotten this, and had wondered where that had been...she was in her element.

And I was in mine.

Twenty cold toes later (we took off our boots to protect her hardwood floors - like every good Canadian does), and we headed inside for some real hot chocolate.

The next day, when the sky was dropping snow and freezing rain upon us, she asked if we could do it all over again...

The grown-up in me declined.

I don't particularly like frozen toes...

So I "ate" this instead:

****************************************************

If you want to see the rest of Sophie's playhouse, go here!

Dormitorios infantiles compartidos

Las literas, camas nido, muebles a medida, son buenas opciones para organizar una habitación infantil en la que dos, tres o incluso más hermanos tienen que compartir el espacio.

Aquí tienes algunos ejemplos de habitaciones infantiles y juveniles que te servirán de ayuda a la hora de planificar la habitación de tus hijos.

Para conseguir multiplicar el espacio para guardar y mantener en orden la habitación, puedes elegir una cama nido, y colocar un mueble a medida bajo la ventana con cajones.

Para algunos niños, el “salto” de la cuna a la cama es demasiado grande. En estos casos, las camas extensibles son una gran ayuda para los padres. Sólo tienen 80 cm. de ancho, pero se pueden alargar (de 80 cm. a 165 cm. y 200 cm.) según vaya creciendo el niño.

Puedes también elegir una cama nido triple como la de la foto en la que en la parte de abajo simula un frente de cajones, pero en realidad es una tercera cama.

Para sacar partido a la altura, las literas son ideales para aprovechar el espacio vertical. Además ahora incluyen nido o cajones. Por ejemplo, puedes colocar unas literas cruzadas y aprovechar la zona inferior integrando un escritorio.

Habitaciones infantiles con mucho color e imaginación

Los dormitorios infantiles son una de las piezas de la casa donde más podemos dejar volar nuestra imaginación. Es importante que los más pequeños de la casa se sientan a gusto en su habitación. Para ello existen múltiples combinaciones posibles, que permiten hacer de esta estancia un lugar divertido sin olvidar la esencial funcionalidad.

En tonos pasteles

Una mesita con sillas de mimbre y un acogedor banco, son los lugares ideales para jugar y leer en esta habitación de niñas.

La cama junto con la mesilla de noche y la cómoda con tonos a juego, completan esta habitación.

Con mucho color

Una habitación divertida. La distribución de los muebles, situados contra la pared, preservan una zona central despejada. Una alfombra delimita este espacio y lo hace más confortable para que los niños puedan jugar en el suelo.

Inspirada en un castillo

Este cuarto, y a la vez zona de juegos, incluye literas y lugares secretos y escondidos.

Bomberos en la habitación

Este camión-casa de bomberos amarilla no sólo cuenta con una cama en la parte baja, sino también con una zona de juegos alfombrada en la parte de arriba y un amplio armario. Cada elemento de esta habitación está relacionado con el tema de bomberos.

Para los pequeños artistas

Si tienes niños con mucha creatividad y espacio extra, organizar todas sus obras de arte es una necesidad. Esta habitación te dará algunas ideas para organizar y guardar todos sus materiales. Un organizador de tela a modo de cortina sostenido por unos ganchos y aros, es una buena opción para guardar sus materiales. La profundidad de sus bolsillos son perfectos para los lápices de colores, pinceles, bolígrafos, y bloc de notas de distintos tamaños. Una pared entera de almacenamiento y estanterías ajustables proveerá al niño el espacio necesario para poner en práctica toda su creatividad.

Inspirado en la naturaleza

Una colorida y alegre habitación llena de flores y divertidas abejas, mariposas y otro tipo de insectos voladores.

Inspirado en motivos florales

El verde lima y el morado son los colores protagonistas de esta alegre habitación que cuenta con murales de flores en las paredes y ganchos en forma de flor para las cortinas.